Miss Hockey: BFA-St. Albans' Shanley Howrigan

Mar. 30, 2013

BFA-St. Albans Shanley Howrigan (goaltender) and South Burlington's Tommy Royer (forward) were named Mr. and Miss Hockey. They posed together in Cairns Arena on Monday, March 25. / MADDIE MCGARVEY/FREE PRESS

When it comes to trophy cases, it would be hard to find one as full as BFA-St. Albans goaltender Shanley Howrigan’s.

The senior has captured three Division I state championships in her four years with the Comets, one of the reasons she’s been named the Burlington Free Press’ “Miss Hockey” this year.

“I’ve worked really hard these last four years to achieve all that I have and to be sitting here and to have won this honor is just something that I can’t even describe; it’s a great feeling,” said Howrigan. “It’s nice to know that all I've worked for has paid off.”

This season, Howrigan backstopped BFA-St. Albans to a D-I title, making 13 saves to earn a shutout in the Comets’ 3-0 win over Essex.

“She plays the game the way you want it to be played,” said BFA coach Luke Cioffi. “She does what she is supposed to do every day. Shanley was our backbone, but she was also our biggest cheerleader.”

As clutch as she is crafty, Howrigan pitched shutouts in all three championship-game appearances — the first two were 1-0 wins over rival Spaulding.

“When we were at our best, she was at her best,” said Spaulding coach Brad Bessette. “She always seemed to rise to the occasion.”

But it is more than just her play in the title games that made BFA’s captain the best goalie in the state. Howrigan had a 0.92 goals against average and a 0.95 save percentage this season.

“Whoever we were playing, we knew we would be competitive,” Cioffi said. “Shanley gives you that confidence.”

Howrigan’s numbers this season were the best of her high school career, in part because of her natural talent but also because of her mental toughness.

“I have learned to take it one shot at a time, it’s something that I’ve developed over my high school years mostly, and that allows me not to focus on the score or anything else that has happened in the game,” Howrigan said. “It just allows me to focus on the next shot.”

A goalie since she was 9 years old, Howrigan never contemplated playing another position and said she loves the competitive part of being in the net.

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“I started playing goalie when I was nine. ... I ended up falling in love with it and I’ve stuck with it ever since,” Howrigan said. “For me, I like to be a competitor and goalie really allows me to be the last man standing between a goal or a save. I’m defensively minded, so that allows me to have the last say.”

Cioffi said Howrigan’s competitive drive was infectious for a Comet team that rolled to an 18-3-2 record.

“She thrives for the challenge, she was born to be there,” Cioffi said. “Whatever the team needed, she would do it. She’s going to fight for everything.”

In capturing another state title, Horwigan and her teammates added to the strong legacy of BFA girls hockey. Howrigan is the fourth Comets player to be named “Miss Hockey.” But she has broken some ground of her own, becoming the first goalie to earn the award since the Free Press started handing it out in 2002.

“The success of the program is something we usually embrace instead of take it as pressure on ourselves. We like to continue the legacy,” Howrigan said.